Mortality in piglets during the perinatal period, especially the first days after birth, is frequently caused by non-infectious conditions, such as hypoglucemia or low birth weight, which can be associated with hypothermia experienced at birth. The thermal stability of newborn piglets is a fundamental aspect of neonatal care, so maintaining a constant, ideal temperature will substantially reduce newborn mortality. Species-specific characteristics, such as a limited capacity for thermoregulation, low energy reserves, a lack of brown adipose tissue (BAT) (-, and environmental conditions that are adverse for the piglet around the time of birth, including the absence of a microclimate, all of them contribute to difficulties in reaching thermal homeostasis in the first hours post-birth. Shivering thermogenesis and behavioral modifications to regulate body temperature through innate mechanisms allow animals to reduce their energy expenditures. Some body postures are effective in reducing contact with the floor and also nestling are useful to avoid heat loss, and also decreases heat dissipation. Achieving optimal development of thermoregulation is a challenge that newborns must confront to successfully adapt to extrauterine life. The objectives of this review, are to discuss the adverse factors that can lead to a death event due to hypothermia by analyzing the thermoregulation mechanisms at the central and cutaneous levels, also to analyze the harmful impacts that surviving neonate piglets confront in an unfavorable thermal environment, and to describe the pathophysiological mechanisms of death caused by hypothermia.

Animal research is considered a key element in advance of biomedical science. Although its use is controversial and raises ethical challenges, the contribution of animal models in medicine is essential for understanding the physiopathology and novel treatment alternatives for several animal and human diseases. Current pandemics’ pathology, such as the 2019 Coronavirus disease, has been studied in primate, rodent, and porcine models to recognize infection routes and develop therapeutic protocols. Worldwide issues such as diabetes, obesity, neurological disorders, pain, rehabilitation medicine, and surgical techniques require studying the process in different animal species before testing them on humans. Due to their relevance, this article aims to discuss the importance of animal models in diverse lines of biomedical research by analyzing the contributions of the various species utilized in science over the past five years about key topics concerning human and animal health.

This review analyzes the main anatomical structures and neural pathways that allow the generation of autonomous and behavioral mechanisms that regulate body heat in mammals. The study of the hypothalamic neuromodulation of thermoregulation offers broad areas of opportunity with practical applications that are currently being strengthened by the availability of efficacious tools like infrared thermography (IRT). These areas could include the following: understanding the effect of climate change on behavior and productivity; analyzing the effects of exercise on animals involved in sporting activities; identifying the microvascular changes that occur in response to fear, pleasure, pain, and other situations that induce stress in animals; and examining thermoregulating behaviors. This research could contribute substantially to understanding the drastic modification of environments that have severe consequences for animals, such as loss of appetite, low productivity, neonatal hypothermia, and thermal shock, among others. Current knowledge of these physiological processes and complex anatomical structures, like the nervous systems and their close relation to mechanisms of thermoregulation, is still limited. The results of studies in fields like evolutionary neuroscience of thermoregulation show that we cannot yet objectively explain even processes that on the surface seem simple, including behavioral changes and the pathways and connections that trigger mechanisms like vasodilatation and panting. In addition, there is a need to clarify the connection between emotions and thermoregulation that increases the chances of survival of some organisms. An increasingly precise understanding of thermoregulation will allow us to design and apply practical methods in fields like animal science and clinical medicine without compromising levels of animal welfare. The results obtained should not only increase the chances of survival but also improve quality of life and animal production.

Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-ionizing, non-invasive technique that permits evaluating the comfort levels of animals, a topic of concern due to the growing interest in determining the state of health and welfare of production animals. The operating principle of IRT is detecting the heat irradiated in anatomical regions characterized by a high density of near-surface blood vessels that can regulate temperature gain or loss from/to the environment by modifying blood flow. This is essential for understanding the various vascular thermoregulation mechanisms of different species, such as rodents and ruminants’ tails. The usefulness of ocular, nasal, and vulvar thermal windows in the orbital (regio orbitalis), nasal (regio nasalis), and urogenital (regio urogenitalis) regions, respectively, has been demonstrated in cattle. However, recent evidence for the river buffalo has detected discrepancies in the data gathered from distinct thermal regions in these large ruminants, suggesting a limited sensitivity and specificity when used with this species due to various factors: the presence of hair, ambient temperature, and anatomical features, such as skin thickness and variations in blood supplies to different regions. In this review, a literature search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and PubMed, using keyword combinations that included “infrared thermography”, “water buffalo”, “river buffalo” “thermoregulation”, “microvascular changes”, “lacrimal caruncle”, “udder”, “mastitis”, and “nostril”. We discuss recent findings on four thermal windows—the orbital and nasal regions, mammary gland in the udder region (regio uberis), and vulvar in the urogenital region (regio urogenitalis)—to elucidate the factors that modulate and intervene in validating thermal windows and interpreting the information they provide, as it relates to the clinical usefulness of IRT for cattle (Bos) and the river buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

This is a literature review of the effects of humans´ relationships with farm animals on animal productivity and welfare, including the following topics: definition of the concept and description of different tests that have been developed to measure human-animal relationship (HAR). Temperament and tameness, which have been considered as farm animal characteristics that are important in HAR, as are stockperson attitudes. Some international farm animal welfare protocols are also described, together with negative and positive stimuli that affect farm animal welfare and productivity. In addition to some factors affecting the quality of HAR. We conclude that even with improved precision farming and automation: a) a good HAR is still fundamental to improve farm animal welfare with associated health and production benefits and b) with the numerous tests assessing fear of humans, many are not commercially applicable.